Auto-Supplier - It's all about micrometers

At the test stand: Industrial mechanic Nikica Knezevic (left) measures wall and floor thickness of the produced parts. (Photo: Frank Schinski)

Smallest parts: The products of Stücke are used, for example, in ABS systems and brakes. (Photo: Frank Schinski)

In the cleanroom: Stücken employee Dennis Rost fills deep-drawn parts for weighing. (Photo: Frank Schinski)

White Kittel, white gloves: Dennis Rost has been working in a cleanroom for almost two years, set up by the auto supplier Stücklen in its new plant in the south of Rinteln (Weser Uplands). He inspects small components, deep-drawn parts, for cleanliness after washing. "With the microscope, you can see even the tiniest dirt particles," explains the 32-year-old. "In the cleanroom, we can rule out that they originate from the air." If the sample is error-free, the entire batch is weighed and vacuum-packed.

The signs are pointing to growth

The mini-components are installed in ABS systems, brakes, fuel pumps, lamps, and air conditioning systems – and customers expect precision in the micrometer range, that is, thousandths of a millimeter.

Overall, 65 employees work here in three shifts, producing high-volume items. And they are also inspected and cleaned in multiple stages. For example, in the "eddy current testing system," the surface of parts is scanned with high-resolution probes, for non-metallic inclusions. "We haven't had any customer complaints yet, but we have received a lot of positive feedback," emphasizes the commercial managing director Dr. Hubert Schmidt. The defect rate is less than one in a million parts.

New technologies such as eddy current testing or electropolishing and edge surface hardening have brought Stücklen to the world’s top. The new building in Rinteln was born out of necessity: capacities at the main plant in the north of the city were exhausted, so 105,000 square meters of "green meadow" were acquired. And the question had to be asked: why not in Romania? "Investing 13 million euros in the Rinteln site and thus going against the trend," says the technical managing director Dr. Uwe Krismann, "is linked to our high quality standards and the need for skilled workers. Both are only fulfilled here."

The signs also point to future growth: a medium-term expansion for assembly work and a new production line is planned on the site. The new plant, based on the "lean production" concept, is intended to serve as a model for the company's locations in China, the Czech Republic, and the USA. And it is also attracting interest outside the company. Recently, 20 participants of the "Automotive Supplier Innovation Circle" met here.

Network for experience exchange

The circle, consisting of representatives from the metal and electrical industries as well as rubber experts, meets three times a year at a company or research institute. They discuss technical developments, industry trends, and optimization potentials, and exchange experiences. The associations NiedersachsenMetall and ADK, as well as the Hanover Chamber of Industry and Commerce, organize these meetings.